Method of host-directed illumination and system for conducting host-directed illumination

ABSTRACT

A method of host-directed illumination for verifying the validity of biometric data of a user is provided that includes capturing biometric data from a user with an authentication device during authentication and directing illumination of the biometric data from a host authentication system during the capturing operation. Moreover, the method includes comparing illumination characteristics of the captured biometric data against illumination characteristics expected to result from the directing operation, and determining that the user is a live user when the illumination characteristics of the captured biometric data match the illumination characteristics expected to result from the directing operation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/680,548, filed Nov. 12, 2019, which is a continuation application ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/200,695, filed Nov. 27, 2018, nowU.S. Pat. No. 10,503,991, issued Dec. 10, 2019, which is a continuationapplication of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/987,983, filed May24, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,169,672, issued Jan. 1, 2019, which is acontinuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/472,451,filed Mar. 29, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,002,302, issued Jun. 19, 2018,which is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/922,679, filed Oct. 26, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,641,523, issued May2, 2017, which is a continuation application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/287,271, filed May 27, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,202,120,issued Dec. 1, 2015, which is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/012,092, filed Aug. 28, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No.8,774,472, issued Jul. 8, 2014, which is a continuation application ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/209,663, filed Aug. 15, 2011, nowU.S. Pat. No. 8,548,207, issued Oct. 1, 2013, the disclosures of whichare incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to methods and systems for verifyingthe validity of biometric data, and more particularly, to a method ofhost-directed illumination for verifying the validity of biometric datacaptured from a user at a remote location and a system for conductingsuch host-directed illumination.

Typically, during network-based biometric authentication transactionsconducted with a user at a remote location, the user requestingauthentication provides a claim of identity and biometric data. However,imposters have been known to impersonate users during remotely conductednetwork-based biometric authentication transactions by providing a falseclaim of identity supported by fraudulent biometric data in an effort todeceive an authenticating entity into concluding that the imposter isthe person they claim to be. Such impersonations are known as spoofing.

Impostors currently use many methods to obtain or create fraudulentbiometric data of others that can be submitted during authenticationtransactions. For facial biometric data imposters have been known toobtain two-dimensional pictures of others, from social networking sitessuch as Facebook, which can be presented to a camera duringauthentication to support a false claim of identity. Imposters have alsobeen known to create fraudulent biometric data by making a physicalmodel of a biometric modality, such as a fingerprint using gelatin or athree-dimensional face using a custom mannequin. Moreover, impostershave been known to eavesdrop on networks during legitimate network-basedbiometric authentication transactions to surreptitiously obtain genuinebiometric data of users. The imposters then use the obtained biometricdata for playback during fraudulent network-based authenticationtransactions. Such fraudulent biometric data are known to be difficultto detect using known liveness detection methods. Consequently,accurately conducting network-based biometric authenticationtransactions with biometric data captured from a user at a remotelocation depends on verifying the physical presence of the user duringthe authentication transaction as well as accurately verifying theidentity of the user with the captured biometric data. Verifying thatthe biometric data presented during a network-based biometricauthentication transaction conducted at a remote location is from a liveperson at the remote location, is known as liveness detection oranti-spoofing.

Methods of liveness detection have been known to use structure derivedfrom motion of a biometric modality, such as a face, to distinguish alive user from a photographic image. Other methods have been known todetect sequential images of eyes or eyeblink techniques to determine ifface biometric data is from a live user. However, such methods may notdetect spoofing attempts that use high definition video playback topresent fraudulent biometric data, and therefore do not provide highconfidence liveness detection support for entities dependent uponaccurate biometric authentication transaction results.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, a method of host-directed illumination for verifying thevalidity of biometric data of a user is provided that includes capturingbiometric data from a user with an authentication device duringauthentication, and directing illumination of the biometric data duringthe capturing operation from a host authentication system. Moreover, themethod includes comparing illumination characteristics of the capturedbiometric data against illumination characteristics expected to resultfrom the directing operation, and determining that the user is a liveuser when the illumination characteristics of the captured biometricdata match the illumination characteristics expected to result from thedirecting operation.

In another aspect, a computer system for verifying the validity ofbiometric data presented by a user during authentication transactions isprovided. The computer system includes a service provider systemassociated with a business engaged in controlling access to resourcesand that contains a data base. The service provider system is configuredto control access to resources relating to users enrolled therein and toconduct transactions. Moreover, the computer system includes a hostauthentication system that includes an authentication database. The hostauthentication system is configured to communicate with the serviceprovider system over a network, to randomly select instructions storedtherein to be executed while capturing biometric data, to store at leastenrollment biometric data of a plurality of users, to determine theliveness of a user requesting to conduct a transaction requiring accessto the resources stored in the service provider system, and toauthenticate users determined to be live users. Furthermore, thecomputer system includes an authentication device configured tocommunicate with the service provider system and the host authenticationsystem over the network, to illuminate the biometric modality presentedby the user, and to capture biometric authentication data.

The host authentication system is further configured to direct theauthentication device to illuminate the presented biometric modality,compare illumination characteristics of captured biometric data againstillumination characteristics expected to result from illuminating thepresented biometric modality, and determine that the user is a live userwhen the illumination characteristics of the captured biometric datamatch the illumination characteristics expected to result fromilluminating the presented biometric modality.

In yet another aspect, a computer program recorded on a non-transitorycomputer-readable recording medium, included in an authenticationcomputer system, for verifying the validity of biometric data presentedby a user attempting to conduct a network-based transaction is provided.The computer program causes the authentication computer system toexecute at least randomly selecting at least one instruction stored in ahost authentication system and transmitting the at least one instructionto an authentication device. Moreover, the computer program causes theauthentication computer system to execute the at least one instructionwith the authentication device while capturing biometric data from theuser with the authentication device. The biometric data is captured as asequence of photographic images that each include a captured biometricdata component and captured illumination characteristics. Furthermore,the computer program causes the authentication computer system totransmit the captured biometric data to the host authentication system,and to compare each of the captured illumination characteristics againstcorresponding expected illumination characteristics. When the capturedillumination characteristics match the corresponding expectedillumination characteristic the computer program causes theauthentication computer system to determine that the user is a liveuser.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example embodiment of an authenticationcomputer system for verifying the validity of biometric data presentedby a user during authentication transactions;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a listing of example illuminationinstructions;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating expected illumination characteristicsand corresponding captured illumination characteristics;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the expected illuminationcharacteristics and the corresponding captured illuminationcharacteristics shown in FIG. 3, as well as differences betweensequential expected illumination characteristics and between sequentialcaptured illumination characteristics; and

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for verifying thevalidity of biometric data of a user.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is an expanded block diagram of an example embodiment of a systemarchitecture of an Authentication Computer (AC) System 10 for verifyingthe validity of biometric data presented by a user during authenticationtransactions. More specifically, the AC system 10 includes a RemoteAuthentication (RA) Device 12, a Service Provider (SP) System 14, and aHost Authentication Computer (HAC) System 16.

The RA device 12 is a smart phone that at least stores applicationstherein, displays at least one of text and images, receives and executesspecific instructions regarding illumination during authentication, andcaptures authentication data from a user. The RA device 12 includes afront face 18, a back face (not shown), at least one camera (not shown),and at least one illumination device (not shown). Each of the front 18and back faces may include at least one camera. At least one camera (notshown), different from the RA device 12, may also be attached to the RAdevice 12 such that the attached at least one camera is capable of anytype of movement. Moreover, each of the front and back faces may includeat least one illumination device arranged in any manner or in anypattern thereon. The at least one illumination device may be any devicecapable of illuminating biometric data in accordance with illuminationinstructions as described herein. It should be appreciated that anycombination of illumination devices included in the at least oneillumination device may be operated at different times to generatedifferent detectable illumination characteristics of a presentedbiometric modality while capturing biometric data.

The front face 18 includes at least one of buttons and icons 20 for atleast entering commands and invoking applications stored in the RAdevice 12. Furthermore, the front face 18 includes a display screen 22such as, but not limited to, a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), thatdisplays at least one of text and images. The display screen 22 mayconstitute the at least one illumination device. Additionally, thedisplay screen 22 may include the buttons and icons 20. Applicationsstored in the RA device 12 include at least a security application thatcauses the RA device 12 to at least operate the at least oneillumination device in response to illumination instructions receivedfrom the HAC system 16.

Although the RA device 12 is a smart phone, the RA device 12 mayalternatively be any device capable of at least displaying at least oneof text and images, and capturing and transmitting data. Such otherdevices include, but are not limited to, a portable cellular phone, atablet computer, a laptop computer, any type of portable communicationsdevice having wireless capabilities such as a personal digital assistant(PDA), and a personal computer.

The RA device 12 is configured to communicate with at least the SPsystem 14 and the HAC system 16 over a communications network 24. Thecommunications network 24 is a 3G communications network. Alternatively,the communications network 24 may be any wireless network including, butnot limited to, Wi-Fi, Global System for Mobile (GSM), Enhanced Data forGSM Evolution (EDGE), and any combination of a local area network (LAN),a wide area network (WAN) and the Internet. Moreover, the RA device 12is configured to conduct at least long range wireless communicationssuch as cellular telephone calls and to wirelessly access the Internetover the network 24. Furthermore, the RA device 12 may captureauthentication data from users and transmit it to the HAC system 16.Alternatively, the RA device 12 may process the captured authenticationdata prior to transmitting it to the HAC system 16. For example, the RAdevice 12 may capture biometric authentication data, create a biometrictemplate from the captured data, and then transmit the biometrictemplate to the HAC system 16. The RA device 12 does not permanentlystore captured authentication data, biometric templates, or any otherinformation that may be derived from captured authentication data.

The SP system 14 is a computer including components such as, but notlimited to, a database server, an application server, a directoryserver, a web server, and a disk storage unit that may be used to storeany kind of data. The disk storage unit may store at least one database.The SP system 14 is configured to at least communicate with the RAdevice 12 and the HAC system 16 over the network 24, and control accessto resources. Resources as described herein include anything that may beprotected against access by unauthorized users. Consequently, resourcesmay include, but are not limited to, financial accounts, data of anytype and of any form, electronic artifacts, services, computer systems,applications, buildings, rooms within buildings, and automobiles.

Electronic artifacts include items such as, but not limited to, webdocuments. Services include, but are not limited to, checking-out anelectronic shopping cart at a website and conducting a paymenttransaction. Computer systems include, but are not limited to, virtualprivate networks and such other networks or computer systems runningsuch networks. Applications as described herein are computer programs.For example, applications as described herein may include, but are notlimited to, applications that facilitate performing privilegedcommunications and applications that permit access to privilegedinformation. It should be understood that such applications are madeavailable to a user only upon authentication of the identity of theuser. Moreover, it should be understood that by virtue of protecting theapplications, the functions performed by those applications are alsoprotected. Thus, by virtue of granting access to applications uponauthentication of the identity of the user, access is also granted tothe functions performed by those applications. Consequently, it shouldbe appreciated that functions caused to be performed on a computer orcomputer system by applications stored throughout the AC system 10, alsoconstitute resources.

In the example embodiment, the SP system 14 is associated with afinancial institution. Thus, the SP system 14 stores and controls accessto at least the financial accounts for each of a plurality of financialinstitution customers and facilitates conducting transactions involvingthe financial accounts. By virtue of controlling who may accessfinancial accounts, the SP system 14 also facilitates controlling themovement of funds within accounts. Moreover, the SP system 14 storestherein at least biographic data for each customer such that thebiographic data of each customer is associated with the financialaccounts of the customer as well as a respective service provider useridentifier. Biographic data includes any demographic informationregarding an individual including, but not limited to, an individual'sname, age, date of birth, address, citizenship and marital status.Furthermore, the SP system 14 may store therein policies for at leastdetermining whether a user is authorized to access resources controlledby the SP system 14. As described herein an authorized user is acustomer of the financial institution having financial accounts storedin and controlled by the SP system 14. Such users are authorized toaccess their financial accounts, and conduct transactions involvingtheir financial accounts after being successfully authenticated.

Although the SP system 14 is associated with a financial institution theSP system 14 is in no way limited to being associated with a financialinstitution. Alternatively, the SP system 14 may be associated with anytype of business or entity that controls access to resources. Forexample, the SP system 14 may be associated with a security servicecompany that facilitates controlling access to buildings. Although theAC system 10 includes one SP system 14 associated with a financialinstitution, the AC system 10 may alternatively include a plurality ofSP systems 14 that are each associated with a different business orentity.

The SP system 14 generally does not include rigorous authenticationcapabilities. The HAC system 16 is designed to quickly connect to, andprovide rigorous authentication capabilities to, operators of the SPsystem 14. By keeping the HAC system 16 separate from the SP system 14,and accessing the HAC system 16 as a managed service, the operator ofthe SP system 14 is able to secure rigorous authentication capabilitieswithout purchasing hardware and software to implement such capabilitiesand without incurring costs associated with training employees to usethe HAC system hardware and software. Consequently, the HAC system 16may facilitate quickly and inexpensively retrofitting the SP system 14to provide rigorous authentication. The SP system 14 and the HAC system16 are not the same device or system. Alternatively, the SP system 14and the HAC system 16 may be the same device or system.

The HAC system 16 includes components such as, but not limited to, a webserver, a database server, an application server, a directory server anda disk storage unit that may be used to store any kind of data. The diskstorage unit may store at least one database such as, but not limitedto, an authentication database. The HAC system 16 also includes adatabase management server and an authentication server. The databasemanagement server may be used to facilitate transferring data to andfrom the disk storage device. The authentication server performsmatching of any feature or information associated with individuals toauthenticate the identity of individuals as described herein.

The HAC system 16 is configured to communicate with the RA device 12 andthe SP system 14 over the network 24. Moreover, the HAC system 16 mayperform functions including, but not limited to, authenticating users,storing at least one authentication policy for determining at least onebiometric modality to be used for authentication, storing at leastauthentication data of each of a plurality of authorized users in arespective enrollment data record, and determining the liveness of auser requesting access to resources controlled by the SP system 14.Although the HAC system 16 is configured to communicate with a single SPsystem 14 and a single RA device 12, the HAC system 16 may alternativelybe configured to communicate with any number of SP systems 14 and anynumber of RA devices 12.

The authentication data is biometric data that corresponds to anybiometric modality desired to be used as the basis of authenticating auser requesting authentication. Such biometric modalities include, butare not limited to, face, finger, iris, and palm, and any combination offace, finger, iris and palm. The biometric data may take any form suchas, but not limited to, photographic images. The enrollment data recordof each authorized user stored in the HAC system 16 includes at leastenrollment biometric data, a unique user identifier, and the serviceprovider user identifier of the respective authorized user. Enrollmentbiometric data is biometric data obtained from the user duringenrollment. The unique user identifier and service provider useridentifier are alphanumeric text strings of any length and aredifferent. By virtue of being stored in the same enrollment data record,the enrollment biometric data, the unique user identifier, and theservice provider user identifier of each authorized user are associatedwith each other. Alternatively, such data may be stored in separaterecords with links to each other. Biographic data may also be includedin the enrollment data records.

The HAC system 16 may also perform functions such as, but not limitedto, storing a plurality of illumination instructions and expectedillumination characteristics, and randomly selecting illuminationinstructions to be executed while capturing biometric data duringauthentication transactions. The randomly selected illuminationinstructions each require executing an action during authentication thateffects illumination characteristics of the biometric modality presentedfor capture as a photographic image. Because each illuminationinstruction is randomly selected, illumination of the biometric modalityduring authentication is not known in advance to an imposter and thusappears unpredictable. Consequently, due to the number of differentcombinations of illumination instructions that may be randomly selectedby the HAC system 16, the randomly selected illumination instructionsconstitute an unpredictable condition injected into biometricauthentication transactions by the HAC system 16 that facilitate makingit more difficult for imposters to successfully spoof the HAC system 16.

Moreover, the HAC system 16 may perform functions such as, but notlimited to, generating illumination characteristics, and recognizing adistinctive pattern of an illumination characteristic generated as aresult of executing any of the illumination instructions. Anillumination instruction executed while capturing biometric data duringauthentication generates a captured illumination characteristic (CIC),and an illumination instruction executed while collecting the enrollmentbiometric data generates an expected illumination characteristic (EIC).The expected illumination characteristic (EIC) is the illuminationcharacteristic expected to be generated as a result of executing theselected illumination instructions while capturing biometric data duringauthentication. It should be understood that the HAC system 16 may alsorecognize illumination characteristics in the form of involuntarymovements or reactions of a biometric modality generated as a result ofapplying illumination in accordance with any of the illuminationinstructions.

Illumination characteristics are generated as a result of illuminatingan object. Illumination may reflect off of the object, may be absorbedby the object, create shadows of the object, or create patterns on theobject. Such reflection, absorption, shadow, and pattern effectsgenerated as a result of illuminating an object are examples ofillumination characteristics. The same type of illumination may reactdifferently when applied to different objects such that the same type ofillumination generates different illumination characteristics. Forexample, the illumination characteristics of a two-dimensionalphotograph of a user subjected to a given illumination are differentthan those of a three-dimensional face of the user subjected to the sameillumination. Thus, it should be understood that a two-dimensionalphotograph used by an imposter attempting to spoof a facial biometricauthentication system may be distinguished from the expected presence ofthree-dimensional face biometric data using the illuminationcharacteristics generated by the same illumination applied to each.

Moreover, illumination may cause involuntary movements or reactions in apresented biometric modality. Such involuntary movements or reactions ofa presented biometric modality are also considered illuminationcharacteristics. For example, when a live iris is the biometric modalityrequired for biometric authentication, increasing or decreasing theillumination applied to the live iris generally causes involuntaryconstriction or dilation, respectively, of the pupil. When the sameincrease or decrease in illumination is applied to a two-dimensionalphotograph of an iris, the pupil will not involuntarily constrict ordilate like a live iris. Thus, a two-dimensional photograph used by animposter attempting to spoof an iris based biometric authenticationsystem may be proven fraudulent. Consequently, it should be understoodthat controlling illumination of biometric modality data presentedduring authentication facilitates detecting illumination characteristicdifferences that may be used to determine the liveness of the user.

The HAC system 16 may also use differences in illuminationcharacteristics to determine the liveness of a user. For example, theHAC system 16 may determine the CICs and EICs of captured biometricdata, and compare the CICs against the EICs to determine whether theymatch. When the CICs and the EICs match, a user is determined to belive. Alternatively, the HAC system 16 may determine the differencebetween sequential CICs and the difference between sequential EICs, andcompare corresponding differences of the CICs and EICs to ensure thattemporal changes of the CICs agree with those of the EICs. Thus, itshould be understood that the HAC system 16 may compare temporal changesin the CICs against temporal changes in the EICs to ensure that temporalchanges of the CICs agree with those of the EICs. When the temporalchanges of the CICs agree with those of the EICs, a user is determinedto be live. It should be appreciated that the HAC system 16 maydetermine the illumination characteristics in any manner and may comparethe illumination characteristics in any manner that facilitatesdetermining the liveness of a user.

The RA device 12, the SP system 14 and the HAC system 16, respectively,each include a processor (not shown) and a memory (not shown). It shouldbe understood that, as used herein, the term processor is not limited tojust those integrated circuits referred to in the art as a processor,but broadly refers to a computer, an application specific integratedcircuit, and any other programmable circuit. It should be understoodthat the processors execute instructions, or computer programs, storedin the respective memories (not shown) of the RA device 12, the SPsystem 14, and the HAC system 16. The above examples are exemplary only,and are thus not intended to limit in any way the definition and/ormeaning of the term “processor.”

The respective memories (not shown) in the RA device 12, the SP system14, and the HAC system 16 can be implemented using any appropriatecombination of alterable, volatile or non-volatile memory ornon-alterable, or fixed, memory. The alterable memory, whether volatileor non-volatile, can be implemented using any one or more of static ordynamic RAM (Random Access Memory), a floppy disc and disc drive, awriteable or re-writeable optical disc and disc drive, a hard drive,flash memory or the like. Similarly, the non-alterable or fixed memorycan be implemented using any one or more of ROM (Read-Only Memory), PROM(Programmable Read-Only Memory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-OnlyMemory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory),an optical ROM disc, such as a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM disc, and disc drive orthe like.

Each of the memories (not shown) can be a computer-readable recordingmedium used to store data, respectively, in the RA device 12, the SPsystem 14, and the HAC system 16. Moreover, each of the respectivememories (not shown) can be a computer-readable recording medium used tostore computer programs or executable instructions that are executed,respectively, by the RA device 12, the SP system 14, and the HAC system16. Moreover, the memories (not shown) may include smart cards, SIMS orany other medium from which a computing device can read computerprograms or executable instructions. As used herein, the term “computerprogram” is intended to encompass an executable program that existspermanently or temporarily on any computer-readable recordable mediumthat causes the computer or computer processor to execute the programand thus causes the computer to perform a function. Applications asdescribed herein are computer programs.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a listing 26 of example illuminationinstructions 28 stored in the HAC system 16. Any one of the illuminationinstructions 28, or any combination of the illumination instructions 28,may be randomly selected by the HAC system 16 to be executed whilecapturing biometric data during authentication. Varying the illuminationintensity or spectrum applied to a presented biometric modality overtime while generating a sequence of photographic images or a videosequence facilitates determining the liveness of a user duringauthentication. Consequently, each of the illumination instructions 28is designed to vary the illumination applied to a presented biometricmodality, and may also be designed to vary the applied illumination overtime.

The listing 26 includes a first instruction 28 for varying illuminationover time that may be implemented by turning the at least oneillumination device on or off while taking the sequence of photographicimages, or controlling the at least one illumination device across acontinuous range of intensities or different wavelengths while takingthe sequence of photographic images. For example, the first instructionmay be implemented by illuminating presented biometric data usingwavelengths corresponding to any color in the visible spectrum such as,but not limited to, red, blue, or green. Alternatively, wavelengthscorresponding to illumination outside the visible spectrum may be usedsuch as, but not limited to, near infra-red light, infra-red light, andultraviolet light. It should be appreciated that light outside thevisible spectrum could be captured by the RA device 12 when capturingbiometric data without the user knowing that the light has beenprojected on the presented biometric modality data.

Moreover, the listing 26 includes a second instruction 28 for causingthe at least one illumination device to project a detectable patternonto a presented biometric modality while taking the sequence ofphotographic images. The detectable pattern is similar to thoseprojected by near infrared illuminators associated with autofocus camerasystems to assist in focusing the camera under low light conditions. Thedetectable pattern instruction may also cause the at least oneillumination device to project any other patterns, or sequences ofpatterns over time, while taking the sequence of photographic images. Itshould be appreciated that projecting a detectable pattern onto apresented biometric modality while capturing a sequence of photographicimages facilitates detecting curvature in an illuminated surface of thepresented biometric modality, which may be used to facilitate detectingthe liveness of a user at a remote location.

Furthermore, the listing 26 includes a third instruction 28 for varyingthe position of illumination with respect to the presented biometricmodality over time. The third instruction may include physically movingthe at least one illumination device with respect to the presentedbiometric modality while taking the photographic images. The thirdinstruction may be repeatedly implemented to generate a sequence ofphotographic images, each taken with the at least one illuminationdevice in a different position. Alternatively, the third instruction mayinclude activating, simultaneously or alternately, illumination devicesnot included in the RA device 12, that are located at differentpositions relative to the biometric modality while taking thephotographic images. Moreover, a camera attached to the RA device 12 maybe moved independently of the RA device 12 to vary the positions ofillumination with respect to the presented biometric modality.

Additionally, the listing 26 includes a fourth instruction 28 foraltering the orientation of the presented biometric modality. Such aninstruction is an indirect method of changing the illumination of thebiometric modality being captured, as it alters the relative position ofthe biometric modality and incidental sources of ambient illuminationthat may be present during authentication. For example, instructionsthat require altering an orientation of a presented biometric modalityover time may require the user to alter his facial orientation in eachphotographic image while biometric data of his face is captured in asequence of photographic images. Such facial orientations includevoluntary movements such as, but not limited to, turning the head to theright, turning the head to the left, looking up, and looking down.Alternatively, the fourth instruction may require altering theorientation of the presented biometric modality by moving the presentedbiometric modality data relative to the at least one illuminationdevice. For example, the presented biometric modality data may be movedfrom a first to a second position relative to the at least oneillumination device.

It should be understood that while altering the orientation of thepresented biometric modality movement of an illuminated region on thepresented biometric modality may be tracked. The behavior of theilluminated region on a three-dimensional moving object is differentthan the behavior on a two-dimensional moving object. In addition, thebehavior of an illumination region on a human body will be differentthan the behavior on an artificial model constructed of differentmaterials. Consequently, instructions which alter the orientation of thepresented biometric modality facilitate detecting liveness of a user ata remote location.

The listing 26 also includes a fifth instruction that requires alteringthe configuration of the presented biometric modality over time. Thefifth instruction is also an indirect method of changing theillumination of the biometric modality being captured because itrequires altering the presented biometric modality data over time. Forexample, the fifth instruction may require a user to alter a facialexpression in each photographic image while biometric data of his faceis captured in a sequence of photographic images. Such facialexpressions include, but are not limited to, frowning, smiling, andwinking an eye. Alternatively, when fingerprints are the biometricmodality to be used for authentication, the fifth instruction mightrequire the user to alter the configuration of fingerprints by requiringthe user to submit specific fingers, such as the middle and indexfingers of the right hand, for capture during authentication. Moreover,the fifth instruction might require the user to alter the presentationof the fingers by spreading or joining some or all of the fingers.

The first, second, and third instructions are referred to herein asdirect instructions, and the fourth and fifth instructions are referredto herein as indirect instructions. Direct instructions are illuminationinstructions executed by the RA device 12 while biometric authenticationdata is captured with the RA device 12. Indirect instructions areillumination instructions communicated to the user by the RA device 12that are expected to be executed by the user while biometric data iscaptured with the RA device 12. Direct instructions are considered toimplement direct control of illumination by the HAC system 16, whileindirect instructions are considered to implement indirect control bythe HAC system 16 because they depend on the user to orient or configurethe presented biometric modality data while capturing biometric data.

It should be understood that each of the illumination instructions 28may be repeatedly executed, or may be executed in combination with anyother illumination instruction 28 during authentication to generate asequence of photographic images. For example, the at least oneillumination device may be repeatedly repositioned during authenticationsuch that the position of the at least one illumination device withrespect to the presented biometric modality varies over time, while theat least one illumination device is on in some positions and off inother positions. As described herein, each of the sequence ofphotographic images is captured while executing at least oneillumination instruction 28. Although the listing 26 includes fiveillumination instructions, any number of illumination instructions mayalternatively be included in the listing 26.

FIG. 3 is a diagram 30 illustrating EICs 32-1 to 32-4 and correspondingCICs 34-1 to 34-4 for a sequence of four photographic images capturedover time during authentication. Corresponding illuminationcharacteristics of each photographic image may be compared to determinethe liveness of a user. For example, the EIC 32-1 for a firstphotographic image may be compared against the CIC 34-1 of the firstphotographic image. When a difference between the correspondingillumination characteristics 32-1 and 34-1 is within an acceptabletolerance, the EIC 32-1 is considered to match the CIC 34-1. When thecorresponding illumination for each image in the sequence matches withinan acceptable tolerance the user is determined to be live.Alternatively, the corresponding illumination characteristics CIC, EICof any number of images may be required to match in order to determinethat a user is live. For example, the corresponding illuminationcharacteristics CIC, EIC of three out of four images may be required tomatch within the expected tolerance to determine that a user is live.

As yet another alternative for determining whether a user is live,matching scores generated as a result of comparing the correspondingillumination characteristics for all of the images may be combined intoa single cumulative matching score for comparison against an overallthreshold score. When the single cumulative matching score is at leastequal to the threshold score, the user is determined to be live. In viewof the above, it should be understood that the correspondingillumination characteristics CIC, EIC may be manipulated in any manneror scheme, and that any summarizing technique may be used to determinethe liveness of a user. Although a sequence of four photographic imagesis included in the diagram 30, the sequence may alternatively includeany number of photographic images.

The information shown in FIG. 4 includes the same information shown inFIG. 3, as described in more detail below. As such, informationillustrated in FIG. 4 that is identical to information illustrated inFIG. 3 is identified using the same reference numerals used in FIG. 3.

FIG. 4 is a diagram 36 illustrating the EICs 32-1 to 32-4 andcorresponding CICs 34-1 to 34-4 for the sequence of four photographicimages captured over time during authentication. This diagram 36 issimilar to that shown in FIG. 3. However, differences between sequentialEICs 32-1 to 32-4, and differences between sequential CICs 34-1 to 34-4are included. Specifically, a first expected difference 38-1 isdetermined between EICs 32-1 and 32-2, a second expected difference 38-2is determined between EICs 32-2 and 32-3, and a third expecteddifference 38-3 is determined between EICs 32-3 and 32-4. Moreover, afirst captured difference 40-1 is determined between CICs 34-1 and 34-2,a second captured difference 40-2 is determined between CICs 34-2 and34-3, and a third captured difference 40-3 is determined between CICs34-3 and 34-4. The first 38-1, second 38-2, and third 38-3 expecteddifferences correspond to the first 40-1, second 40-2, and the third40-3 captured differences. Corresponding differences are compared toensure that temporal changes of the CICs 34-1 to 34-4 agree with thoseof the EICs 32-1 to 32-4, respectively. For example, the second expecteddifference 38-2 may be compared against the second captured difference40-2 to determine whether the difference between them is within anacceptable tolerance. When the difference between the differences 38-2and 40-2 is within the acceptable tolerance, illuminationcharacteristics are determined to match. When all of the correspondingdifferences match the user being authenticated is determined to be alive user.

Alternatively, any number of the expected differences 38-1 to 38-3 maybe compared against corresponding captured differences 40-1 to 40-3 todetermine that a user is live. For example, three out of fourcorresponding differences may be required to match within the expectedtolerance to determine that a user is live. As another alternative fordetermining whether a user is live, matching scores generated as aresult of comparing any number of corresponding differences may becombined into one cumulative matching score and compared against anoverall difference threshold score. When the one cumulative matchingscore is at least equal to the overall difference threshold score, theuser is determined to be live. In view of the above, it should beunderstood that the corresponding differences may be manipulated in anymanner or scheme, and that any summarizing technique may be used todetermine that a user is live.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart 42 illustrating an example process used by the ACsystem 10 for verifying the validity of biometric data of a userrequesting to conduct a network-based transaction that requiresaccessing at least one resource controlled by the SP system 14 from aremote location. For the AC system 10 the process starts 44 with a userof the RA device 12 requesting 46 to remotely conduct a transaction thatrequires accessing at least one resource controlled by the SP system 14.In response, the SP system 14 continues processing by transmitting anauthentication request message to the HAC system 16. The authenticationrequest message includes at least the service provider user identifierof the requesting user. Next, the HAC system 16 continues processing bydetermining 48 a biometric modality to be captured duringauthentication, randomly selecting 48 at least one illuminationinstruction for capturing biometric data during authentication,generating 48 a capture request message that includes at least thedetermined biometric modality and the selected at least one illuminationinstruction, and transmitting 48 the capture request message to the RAdevice 12. The selected at least one illumination instruction mayinclude one or more direct instructions, one or more indirectinstructions, or any combination of direct and indirect instructions. Itshould be appreciated that by virtue of randomly selecting the at leastone illumination instruction to be executed while capturing biometricdata from a user with the RA device 12, the HAC system 16 continuesprocessing by directing illumination of the biometric data whilecapturing the biometric data from a user.

After receiving the capture request message, the RA device 12 continuesby displaying the biometric modality to be captured on the screen 22,and by notifying the user of any indirect instructions included in theselected at least one illumination instruction. In the exampleembodiment the RA device 12 notifies the user of any indirectinstructions by displaying them on the screen 22 for the user to see.Next, the requesting user continues by reading the screen 22 andcapturing biometric data 50 corresponding to the determined biometricmodality with the RA device 12. When indirect instructions are alsodisplayed on the screen 22, the user captures the biometric data whileexecuting the indirect instructions.

It should be understood that in the exemplary embodiment biometric datais captured as a plurality of sequential photographic images, and thatas the user captures the biometric data with the RA device 12 the userexecutes the indirect instructions included in the selected at least oneillumination instruction and the security application causes the RAdevice 12 to execute the direct instructions included in the selected atleast one illumination instruction. Thus, biometric data of thedetermined biometric modality is captured in accordance with theselected at least one illumination instruction. Each of the sequentialphotographic images included in the captured biometric data includes acaptured biometric data component and captured illuminationcharacteristics superimposed thereon. It should be appreciated that eachof the captured biometric data components and each of the capturedillumination characteristics can be varied over time such that eachimage in the sequence has different illumination characteristics. Next,the RA device 12 continues processing by transmitting the capturedbiometric data to the HAC system 16.

After receiving the captured biometric data, the HAC system 16 continuesprocessing by determining whether the requesting user is a live user 52by comparing the illumination characteristics (CICs) of the capturedbiometric data against the illumination characteristics (EICs) expectedto result from directing the illumination of the biometric data. Morespecifically, the HAC system 16 continues by determining the first 38-1,second 38-2, and third 38-3 expected differences, and separating thecaptured biometric data component from the CICs in each photographicimage to determine the first 40-1, second 40-2, and third 40-3 captureddifferences. After determining the expected and captured differences,the HAC system 16 continues by comparing the first expected difference38-1 against the first captured difference 40-1, the second expecteddifference 38-2 against the second captured difference 40-2, and thethird expected difference 38-3 against the third captured difference40-3. When the result of each comparison is determined to constitute amatch, the requesting user is determined to be a live user. When theresult of each comparison does not constitute a match, the requestinguser is determined to be an imposter and the HAC system 16 continuesprocessing by transmitting a message 54 to the SP system 14 indicatingthe user is an imposter and is not authenticated. Next, processing ends56.

After determining that the requesting user is a live user 52, the HACsystem 16 continues processing by authenticating the requesting user 58by comparing the enrollment biometric data of the requesting useragainst each of the captured biometric data components. When theenrollment biometric data matches each of the captured biometric datacomponents, the requesting user is successfully authenticated 58.

After successfully authenticating the requesting user 58, the HAC system16 continues processing by transmitting a message 60 to the SP system 14indicating the requesting user has been successfully authenticated. Inresponse, the SP system 14 continues by determining whether therequesting user is authorized 62 to conduct the requested transaction.When the requesting user is authorized, processing continues bypermitting the user to conduct the transaction 64. Next, processing ends56. However, when the enrollment biometric data does not match each ofthe captured biometric data components the requesting user is notsuccessfully authenticated 58, and the HAC system 16 continuesprocessing by transmitting a message 54 to the SP system 14 indicatingthat the requesting user has not been authenticated. Next, processingends 56.

Because the selected at least one illumination instruction is executedin response to a communication from the HAC system 16, the HAC system 16directs_application of the selected at least one illuminationinstruction in the example embodiment. Thus, the process of verifyingthe validity of biometric data described in the example embodiment is amethod of verifying the validity of biometric data using host-directedillumination, where the HAC system 16 is the host directing illuminationof a presented biometric modality through the selected at least oneillumination instruction. Moreover, because the selected at least oneillumination instruction may be executed by the RA device 12 in responseto the communication from the HAC system 16, the HAC system 16effectively directs the RA device 12 to illuminate biometric modalitydata presented during authentication.

Although the HAC system 16 determines the liveness of a requesting userbased on expected differences 38-1, 38-2, 38-3 and captured differences40-1, 40-2, 40-3 in the example embodiment, in other embodiments theliveness of a requesting user may be determined in any manner thatfacilitates determining the liveness of a user including, but notlimited to, based on direct comparisons of the EICs 32-1, 32-2, 32-3against corresponding CICs 34-1, 34-2, 34-3.

Although the requesting user is biometrically authenticated in theexample embodiment when the enrollment biometric data matches each ofthe captured biometric data components, in other embodiments theenrollment biometric data need not match each of the captured biometricdata components to successfully authenticate the requesting user. Forexample, three of four captured biometric data components may berequired to match the enrollment biometric data and successfullyauthenticate the requesting user. Moreover, in such other embodimentsany method may be used to biometrically authenticate users that is basedon the enrollment biometric data and the captured biometric datacomponents.

Although the RA device 12 notifies the user of any indirect instructionsincluded in the selected at least one illumination instruction bydisplaying the indirect instructions on the screen 22 in the exampleembodiment, in other embodiments the RA device 12 may notify the user ofthe indirect instructions in any manner including, but not limited to,voice instructions. Moreover, although the HAC system 16 transmits acapture request message including the selected at least one illuminationinstruction to the RA device 12 in the example embodiment, in otherembodiments the HAC system 16 may transmit a plurality of capturerequests each including one illumination instruction to be executedwhile capturing a corresponding one of the photographic images includedin the sequence of photographic images. In such other embodiments, theHAC system 16 transmits each of the capture requests prior to capturingthe corresponding one of the photographic images.

Although the SP system 14 determines whether the requesting user isauthorized to conduct the requested transaction after the user issuccessfully biometrically authenticated in the example embodiment, inother embodiments the SP system 14 may make this determination beforetransmitting the authentication request message to the HAC system 16. Inyet other embodiments, the HAC system 16 may determine whether theauthenticated user is authorized to conduct the requested transactioninstead of the SP system 14.

Although the RA device 12 receives and executes the selected at leastone illumination instruction in the example embodiment, in alternativeembodiments the RA device 12 may not execute the selected at least oneillumination instruction. Instead, any device different than the RAdevice that is capable of receiving and executing the selected at leastone illumination instruction may receive and execute the selected atleast one illumination instruction. Such different devices include, butare not limited to, lamps.

Although the example embodiment describes verifying the validity ofbiometric data of a user using the RA device 12 at a location remotefrom the SP system 14 and the HAC system 16, in other embodiments theuser may be located in close proximity to at least one of the SP system14 and the HAC system 16. The example embodiment describes operationsperformed by, and communications sent between, the RA device 12, the SPsystem 14, and the HAC system 16 that facilitate determining whether auser should be permitted to conduct a requested transaction. In otherembodiments the operations may be performed, and the communications maybe sent, in any order that facilitates determining whether a user shouldbe permitted to conduct a requested transaction.

The example authentication process starts when a user of the RA device12 requests to remotely conduct a transaction that requires accessing atleast one resource controlled by the SP system 14. However, it should beappreciated that in other embodiments the authentication process maystart when the user makes the request from his home personal computerwhile in possession of the RA device 12. In such other embodiments theSP system 14 communicates with the personal computer over a firstcommunications channel and the HAC system 16 communicates with the RAdevice over a second communications channel different than the firstcommunications channel. Thus, in such other embodiments out of bandcommunications may be conducted between the user's personal computer andthe SP system 14, and the user's RA device 14 and the HAC system 16.Such out of band communications facilitate increasing the security ofnetwork-based transactions.

It should be understood that by virtue of providing illuminationinstructions that are executed while capturing biometric data duringauthentication, the HAC system 16 is enabled to control and directspecific aspects of authentication in a seemingly unpredictable mannerto a user that facilitate determining liveness of the user. As a resultof the unpredictable nature of HAC system control, successful spoofingof authentication systems is facilitated to be reduced.

The processes and systems described herein facilitate increasing thelevel of trust in biometric authentication transaction resultsdetermined with biometric data captured at a remote location, and arebelieved to be applicable to many different businesses for reducingrisks that transactions conducted as a result of a successfulauthentication will be conducted fraudulently.

In each embodiment, the above-described processes reduce the risks thattransactions will be conducted fraudulently, and thus facilitateenhancing security of systems and resources involved in conducting suchtransactions. In example embodiments described herein, biometric data iscaptured from a user at a remote location in accordance with selectedillumination instructions transmitted from a host authenticationcomputer system. Each of the selected illumination instructions requiresexecuting an action during authentication that effects illuminationcharacteristics of a biometric modality presented for capture in asequence of photographic images. The selected illumination instructionsare executed by at least one of a remote authentication device and theuser while the biometric data is captured by the user. The hostauthentication computer system determines whether the captured biometricdata was captured from a live user by separating a biometric datacomponent from captured illumination characteristics included in each ofthe photographic images, generating illumination characteristics foreach photographic image expected to result from capturing the biometricdata, and comparing the captured illumination characteristics againstthe expected illumination characteristics for each image. When thecaptured illumination characteristics match the expected illuminationcharacteristics for each photographic image, the user is determined tobe live. The user is authenticated and after being determined to be anauthorized user is permitted to conduct a requested transaction.

Example embodiments of authentication processes and systems that providerigorous liveness detection support are described above in detail. Theprocesses are not limited to use with the specific computer systemembodiments described herein, but rather, the processes can be utilizedindependently and separately from other processes described herein.Moreover, the invention is not limited to the embodiments of theprocesses and systems described above in detail. Rather, othervariations of the processes may be utilized within the spirit and scopeof the claims.

While the invention has been described in terms of various specificembodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the inventioncan be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of theclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for detecting user liveness comprising: transmitting, using an authentication computer system, via a network an illumination instruction to a computing device, the illumination instruction comprising a plurality of illumination instructions that each cause the applied illumination to be for a different wavelength; capturing, by the computing device, facial image data of a user as a sequence of discrete images, each discrete image being captured while illumination is applied to the face of the user in accordance with the illumination instruction; transmitting over the network, by the computing device, the sequence of discrete images to the authentication computer system; recognizing, by the authentication computer system, reflections in a plurality of the images, the reflections resulting from the applied illumination; and determining, by the authentication computer system, the facial image data was taken of a live person based on the reflections.
 2. A method for detecting user liveness in accordance with claim 1 further comprising authenticating, by the authentication computer system, the user based on one of the discrete images and a record user image.
 3. A method for detecting user liveness in accordance with claim 1, further comprising illuminating the face of the user with light outside the visible spectrum.
 4. A method for detecting user liveness in accordance with claim 1 further comprising tracking movement of an illuminated region on the face of the user, the illuminated region being illuminated with light outside the visible spectrum.
 5. An authentication computer system for detecting user liveness comprising: a processor; and a memory for storing data, said authentication computer system being associated with a network and said memory being in communication with said processor and having instructions stored thereon which, when read and executed by said processor cause said authentication computer system to: transmit an illumination instruction to a computing device, the illumination instruction comprising a plurality of illumination instructions that each cause illumination to be applied for a different wavelength; receive a plurality of images included in a sequence of discrete images, each discrete image being captured by the computing device while illumination is applied to the face of a user in accordance with the illumination instruction; recognize reflections in the plurality of images, the reflections resulting from the applied illumination; and determine the facial image data was taken of a live person based on the reflections.
 6. An authentication computer system for detecting user liveness in accordance with claim 5, wherein the instructions when read and executed by said processor further cause said authentication computer system to authenticate the user based on one of the plurality of images and a record user image.
 7. A method for detecting user liveness comprising: capturing, by a computing device, facial image data of a user as a sequence of discrete images, each discrete image being captured while illumination is applied to the face of the user in accordance with an illumination instruction comprising a plurality of illumination instructions that each cause the applied illumination to be for a different wavelength; recognizing, by the computing device, reflections in a plurality of the images, the reflections resulting from the applied illumination; and determining, by the computing device, the facial image data was taken of a live person based on the reflections.
 8. A method for detecting user liveness in accordance with claim 7 further comprising authenticating the user based on one of the discrete images and a record user image.
 9. A method for detecting user liveness in accordance with claim 7, further comprising illuminating the face of the user with light outside the visible spectrum.
 10. A method for detecting user liveness in accordance with claim 7 further comprising tracking movement of an illuminated region on the face of the user, the illuminated region being illuminated with light outside the visible spectrum.
 11. A computing device for detecting user liveness comprising: a display screen; a processor; and a memory configured to store data, said computing device being associated with a network and said memory being in communication with said processor and having instructions stored thereon which, when read and executed by said processor cause said computing device to: capture facial image data of a user as a sequence of discrete images, each discrete image being captured while illumination is applied to the face of the user in accordance with an illumination instruction comprising a plurality of illumination instructions that each cause illumination to be applied for a different wavelength; recognize reflections in a plurality of the images, the reflections resulting from the applied illumination; and determine the facial image data was taken of a live person based on the reflections.
 12. A computing device for detecting user liveness in accordance with claim 11, wherein the instructions when read and executed by said processor further cause said computing device to authenticate the user based on one of the discrete images and a record user image.
 13. A computing device for detecting user liveness in accordance with claim 11, wherein the instructions when read and executed by said processor further cause said computing device to illuminate the face of the user with light outside the visible spectrum.
 14. A computing device for detecting user liveness in accordance with claim 11, wherein the instructions when read and executed by said processor further cause said computing device to track movement of an illuminated region on the face of the user, the illuminated region being illuminated with light outside the visible spectrum. 